Chaimi I a R epub ETZ CHAIM Gate 3 Chapter 1 with SIMCHAT CHAIM - Kabbalah (Hebrew): Kabbalah explanation on ETZ CHAIM of the AR"I Z"L: Volume 3

Rabbi Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi, commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (meaning "The Lion"), "Ha'ARI Hakadosh" [the holy ARI] or "ARIZaL" [the ARI, Of Blessed Memory], was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Syria. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah, his teachings being referred to as Lurianic Kabbalah. While his direct literary contribution to the Kabbalistic school of Safed was extremely minute (he wrote only a few poems), his spiritual fame led to their veneration and the acceptance of his authority. The works of his disciples compiled his oral teachings into writing. Every custom of the Ari was scrutinized, and many were accepted, even against previous practice. Ha'ARI used to deliver his lectures extemporaneously and did not write much, with a few exceptions, including some kabbalistic poems in Aramaic for the Shabbat table. The real exponent of his kabbalistic system was Rabbi Hayyim Vital. He collected all the notes of the lectures which Ha'ARI disciples had made, and from these notes were produced numerous works, the most important of which was the EITZ CHAIM, ("Tree of Life"). EITZ CHAIM contains fifty Gates, and each Gate has a number of chapters, with a total of over 370 chapters. Rabbi Hayyim Vital wrote the Study of Ha'ARI Z"L in great mystery, and every issue is scattered in several places. This written puzzle of Rabbi Hayyim Vital with God's help I have complied and put together in the right order. The explanations are simple for everyone to understand. This Book contains, rules, introductions, charts, Footnotes, my own explanations and more. AH"I